These two posts got me thinking about titles. I’ve never felt confident in my titling abilities, truth be told. Mine seem to lack kick. My one published story went through four or five different titles between its many drafts, and one of those was a request from the editor. I ended up with the best title I’d imagined for the story, but was it the best it deserved?

I haven’t considered how important a title really is. When I’m skimming over stories, trying to decide what to read, I know I pass over something that doesn’t catch my attention. Short stories have no other way to introduce themselves — the title is their handshake. Some might get a blurb, too, but you can’t rely on that.

So, I resolve to be more thoughtful about titles from now on. You just watch me.

One last thing: the second post refers to titles that existed before the actual stories. I love this. It never happened to me — I’ve always come up with the story idea first — but it is something I want to try. It reminds me of one of my brainstorming methods: I take a few random words and see how they bang together in my head, like elements creating a chemical reaction. Definitely need to give it a try.